Ted Nugent Blames Jews for Gun Control in Anti-Semitic Post

DETROIT, MI – In one of his latest Facebook rants, “Motor City Madman” Ted Nugent made anti-Semitic comments against 12 prominent Jewish Americans, including former U.S. Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, calling them “punks” who “hate freedom” and would deny Americans the right to gun ownership.

Along with Levin, the National Rifle Association board member known for conservatism and vitriol called out New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, former New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg (who died in 2013), Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz, and gun control advocates John Rosenthal, Max Nacheman and Dan Gross.

The post had thumbnail photos of each, along with an image of the Israeli flag.

In a later post that included a link to a New York Daily News story that called him a “wacko rocker,” Nugent said that “Jews for guncontrol [sic] are Nazis in disguise?”

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of Anti-Defamation League, told the New York Daily News that Nugent “has a long history of being an equal opportunity offender.”

“But his latest share on Facebook, making the outrageous suggestion that Jews are behind gun control, is nothing short of conspiratorial anti-Semitism,” Greenblatt said. “Regardless of one’s views on gun control, this kind of scapegoating of an entire religious group is completely unacceptable and completely divorced from reality. It should go without saying that anti-Semitism has no place in the gun control debate.”

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Nugent’s posts have been liked and shared thousands of times and have drawn thousands of comments.

But many of the comments are critical, such as one by Michigan resident Moe Dalitz, who grew up in Southfield. Dalitz said Nugent shouldn’t have brought religion into the issue of gun control and that the second post “with the Holocaust stuff is so over the top offensive.”

“No more ‘Wango Tango’ or ‘Cat Scratch Fever’ for me,” Dalitz posted. “Sorry. You certainly crossed a line. And knowing you, you will just defend it and not realize that you have offended many, many people. ... Hoping The “Motorcity Madman” will change his name. Disgraceful.”

Another Michigan resident, Debbie Schlussel, denounced Nugent as a “Jew-hater.”

“Ted,” she posted. “As a religious Jew who testified with you in the Michigan Senate for relaxing gun laws and strengthening the 2nd Amendment, I’m absolutely disgusted but not at all surprised that you are showing what I always suspected: that you are a Jew-hater and a piece of crap. .. Also, I’m sickened you invoke the slogan of Jewish Holocaust survivors, ‘Never Again’ in mockery. …”

Another Jew, Ariel Kotier, commented:

“Ted I love you man, but how can you post that the Jews are behind gun control and then post this? Does that mean that we are conspiring to have ourselves massacred? There are Jews who support gun control but many of us are gun owners ourselves and members of the NRA. Quite a number of us are actually members of the GOA (Gun Owners of America) instead because we feel that the NRA has gone along with too much gun control, especially in the past when it came to minorities. ... As Jews we remember more clearly than most what can happen at any time.”

Some commenting on the threads, including Brad Vogel, said Nugent was right. “Why is it 90% of Gun Control laws are created and introduced to Congress by Jews?” Vogel asked.

“Uncle Ted, I guess a lot of them are just happy to keep the blinders on and just graze on stupidity like all the other sheep,” Billy Horton wrote of Nugent’s detractors. “But, and I think I speak for millions of uncle Ted followers, keep on preaching!! We are behind you!!”

» Photo via Flickr / Creative Commons